Irene Doris Wolter Stanley, 91, of Great Falls, passed away Thursday, February 11, 2016 after a courageous battle with cancer.  Arrangements have been entrusted to Croxford Funeral Home.  At her request, no services will be held.  A private family burial in the Stanley family plot in Highland Cemetery will take place at a later date.

Irene was born December 6, 1924 in Chicago, IL, to Dr. Alfred B. and Irene Loeding Wolter.  She attended Wright Jr. College and Secretarial Institute of Chicago during the height of WWII and worked as the secretary in Chicago’s Northwest Airlines’ Michigan Avenue ticket office.  Irene and E. Scott Stanley, a native of Great Falls, met and married in 1950, and made their home in Great Falls after Scott’s service as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot. Scott and Irene returned to his home town to become the 3rd generation of the H.H. Stanley Insurance Co., which had been started by his grandfather prior to 1900.  Irene worked initially as a secretary for the Great Falls National Bank, and then as a legal secretary for the law firm of Murch and Wuerthner, prior to the birth of their firstborn child, Kyle Scott Stanley.  Their family became 3rd and 4th generation members of the 1st Presbyterian Church, and engaged themselves in the many and various civic and private organizations pertaining to their involvement in business and family.  Irene enjoyed being a 21 year member of the Jr. League of Great Falls and her duties as a volunteer secretary at the C.M. Russell Museum. 

She loved being wife and homemaker to her beloved husband, Scott, and a devoted mother to their son Kyle Scott, and daughter Teryl Deane.  Irene truly delighted in Montana and its history, and together they enjoyed a lifetime with their family, business connections and the pleasures of private flying, mostly around the entirety of the United States and Canada.  They frequently retreated with family and friends to their vacation home on the shores of Whitefish Lake, MT.  The family all participated in both water and snow sports for many years.  This happy recreation cabin acquisition started in early 1971 with an old, pre-existing one room hunting cabin and engaged Irene in many years of designing and remodeling their retreat into a home for their retirement.

Survivors include their daughter, Teryl Deane (Stanley) Parker of Nine Mile Falls, WA; granddaughter, Briana Jaclyn Stanley of NY; grandson, Rhett Cale Stanley of Canby, OR; brother, Alfred E. (Joyce) Wolter of Arlington Hts, IL; and many nieces and nephews.

Those who preceded her in death include her parents; her husband of 55 years, Scott; their son, Kyle, to a tragic skiing accident in 1999 and brother, Florian Wolter.

Memorials may be made to 1st Presbyterian Church of Great Falls or Peace Hospice of Great Falls.

 Service Information